Standing resolute
by PrinceTheSecond
Summary: Sakura feels left behind and is determined to prove her worth. Receiving a wanderer pass from Tsunade she goes out and learns more than she perhaps even wanted. Future ItaSaku rating will go up
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:

Un-beta'd and not re-read for spelling mistakes or grammar. It's all yours to tear down.

I am not aware of any of the newer Naruto episodes or chapters thus this story is firmly in the AU world and takes place before Orochimaru's death.

"I want to be strong!" she said. Her eyes shone with determination and pride "You have been a better shishou I could have ever wished for but..." her shoulders tensed and she looked at the floor, avoiding the hokage's eyes "But- I think," she swallowed and looked up again "I think I've learned everything I can from you but it's not enough!"

She put a step forward and raised her hands "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Tsunade-shishou but I want to be stronger! Stronger! More! Naruto and Sasuke..." she unconsciously clenched her fists "I want to be just as strong as them. No." she shook her head "I want to be better."

Tsunade stared at her student as she absently swirled the sake around in her little cup. The older woman's chin rested on the other hand and she appeared deep in thought while her pupil waited for a reaction.

It remained quiet for some time until Sakura very hesitantly said: "Shishou?" the blonde grunted and raised the sake cup, swallowing it down in one go. Sakura sighed and her shoulders hunched, realising her well prepared speech had done nothing to her shishou. Sakura was about to turn around and leave when finally...

"You have really learned everything I can teach you, Sakura." the pink haired kunoichi's eyes shot up to the hokage as she continued "I understand your desire to continue growing and learning even if you haven't fully mastered everything I have taught you."

Sakura protested "Shishou, I have-" Tsunade silenced her with a glance. "But-" she shot Sakura a warning glance "But, I understand your wish to keep up with your old team. Naruto is continuously improving under Jiraiya's tutelage and Sasuke... Well." Tsunade mentally noted how Sakura did not flinch or waver when mentioning her old crush. She was proud her student had moved on.

Tsunade refilled her sake cup. "I don't have the time to train you better and more than I already have but there is someone..." the hokage stared at the sake while Sakura eagerly stared at her shishou "someone who could train you beyond Sasuke and Naruto, if you truly have it in you."

"I want to try, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said loudly. Tsunade gulped down the sake again and nodded seriously before refilling.

"Come closer, Sakura." the pink haired kunoichi obeyed without hesitating "The person I'm talking about..." Tsunade sighed and Sakura frowned, suddenly unsure if she really wanted what she had asked for.

"If you wish to go to her you will have to leave Konoha, I can give you a special wanderer status for it." Gold eyes met emerald and the seriousness of what Tsunade was proposing sunk in. Wanderer status was only given in very special cases such as long term undercover missions or extensive information gathering. The only person who Sakura knew to have such a status was Jiraiya...

"I cannot promise she'll accept you and if she does it will be hard work, nothing like you've experienced here before." Tsunade continued, Sakura gulped and nodded "You must do whatever she tells you to, no matter how absurd or useless it may seem, will you do that?" Sakura nodded again, filling the information away. Tsunade closed her eyes, sighed and nodded.

"You will leave tomorrow evening when we usually have our taijutsu training so I can show you where to go." Tsunade finally ended and filled another cup of sake. Sakura was left a little shocked at how fast everything had been decided.

"Tsunade-same," Sakura started but her mentor cut her off

"We'll talk more tomorrow, Sakura." the younger girl nodded, turned and headed for the door knowing she had been dismissed. Right before she pulled the handle Tsunade spoke up again "Sakura..." she hesitated "when you go to her, she will seem a little... Odd. Crazy, even."

Sakura looked a little shocked, nodded and left.

"Sakura," Tsunade spoke up as they both landed on a wide tree branch "Right now, you can still go back. Won't you miss your friends? Ino, Tenten, Naruto and all the others?" Sakura paused and looked out over the forest. She had never been there before.

"I will," she said "but I still want to be stronger even if I won't see all of them for a while."

"It might be longer than a while, Sakura," Tsunade said "I don't know how long it will take. If she'll be open to an apprentice at all. This is a wild guess on my part, Sakura and all I can do is hope she'll be better than the last time we met."

Sakura turned to her mentor "Who is she, really?"

"A missing nin of Konoha, sadly." Tsunade said "That's why you need to special wanderer status so you can associate with her. She has... Been through much and her bloodline limit is a stressful one." the blonde hesitated "I'm afraid one mission gone awry messed with her head, she has never been the same since."

"So she's crazy?" Sakura asked, pulling a face.

"A little bit, yes. I haven't quite figured out if she's just hiding behind a facade or if she has truly lost it." she looked at Sakura seriously "You must take her seriously, Sakura or find an appropriate balance. She may not be as clear headed as when she was young but she is still the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen."

Sakura gasped and nodded again.

"That's all I can tell you. You'll have to find a way to get through to her. She values hard work above raw talent or smarts so don't try to impress her."

Another nod.

"It will take you about three weeks to travel there. From this point on you travel South for a week until you come to a small fishing village called Sakana there you will travel by boat for three days to the wind country. From there on you head north west for eight days. You will enter a deserted country, forest as far as the eye can reach. There, you will have to search for her."

Sakura was shocked when hearing the amount of time it would take just getting there. "Search for her? How?" she stared at her teacher.

"There are little villages spread over the forest, you'll have to ask around for someone to guide you to the village of Kareha."

"I didn't think it would take so long to get there and I hardly brought anything." Sakura admitted. Her teacher smiled.

"Think of it as survival training. Good luck, Sakura." Tsunade grasped her pupil's shoulder and smiled "If there's anyone who could convince Kin to take on an apprentice it's you."

Sakura nodded yet again and whispered "Hai, shishou."

It was silent then, both of them looking at each other. Sakura could feel saltiness welling up in her eyes, she would _miss_ her shishou and all her friends. She would miss Konoha. She smiled brightly "I'll make you proud, shishou and I hope I'll see you soon." she bowed respectfully and before Tsunade could notice the tears Sakura turned and was on her way South.

Tsunade sighed "I'm already proud, you silly girl." and she looked at Sakura's back as she moved through the trees.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** At first I was going to completely ignore this part of the story and just have her arrive but... I didn't.

So, I offer all of you a transfer, silly and unneeded chapter. Un-beta'd and un-proof-readed as will be the norm.

* * *

The trip south through the Fire country went easy enough. It was mostly forest and farmland, grassy hills, fields of corn, the weather was nice and the town folk friendly. Sakura had never been to this part of the fire country before mostly because it was so quiet and peaceful. Far from borders with other countries and behind the heavily patrolled area around Konoha village.

The villagers weren't so used to having shinobi over either and they gladly gave Sakura a bed and warm meal for some help around the house or some soothing healing chakra.

The nights she didn't pass a town she slept under the open sky; the sounds of little animals shuffling around in the dark and a lone owl hooting in the distance lulling her to sleep.

This all changed abruptly after she had hitched a ride on a boat and got off at a small town in Wind country. The town was desolate, doors creaking on their hinges and dust flying through broken windows. Sakura gulped as her thoughts strayed to the horror movie she had watched with Ino two days before she had left.

Sakura felt a little pang deep in her chest when thinking of her friends. She turned her back on the town and stared at the blue sea from where she had come. Doubt lingered and nagged on her mind. Was she truly making the right decision? Was she up for it?

... What would she do if this Kin didn't want her?

She sighed once, deeply and then straightened up. This was important and one day she'd go back to Konoha, stronger than anyone would have ever thought possible. She tightened the straps on her backpack and finally took off her forehead protector, stashing it in her pocket.

With a last glance at the sea she took off heading straight north.

The journey through the country of Wind was decidedly harder than the one through her own. Most villages of decent size were all located around Suna, the sea or the borders with other countries were the climate was less harsh. That left over half the country nearly uninhabited.

Sakura didn't really mind losing contact with other humans for a little while; there were things she needed to ponder, after all. Who this Kin person might be, for example. As Tsunade's apprentice Sakura had been allowed to view classified files but not once had she seen the name Kin anywhere.

Two days into the wind country and Sakura finally hit the reason why the middle part of the country was uninhabited. Desert for miles and miles to come. Sakura had prepared for it and had stacked up on extra water and got more protective clothing to cover her head and arms from the glaring sun.

It had taken Sakura three days extra to get through the desert than Tsunade had calculated so on the nineteenth day since leaving Konoha Sakura arrived in a land claimed by no one and inhabited by little communities which ruled themselves.

Sakura was glad to have arrived back in a less testing environment and she took a few days to get used to it. Much hotter than fire country and an entirely different sort of plant life and rain on all moments of the day. The humidity pressed down hard and Sakura felt like she would never get rid of all the sweat.

The animals were bigger, fiercer or smaller and deadlier. Most of the creatures and plants she had only read and seen images of in books and scrolls about tropical climates.

The first village Sakura found was decently sized with clay houses gathered seemingly random and a little square in the middle with a stone well. When Sakura walked up to the small town she could feel the suspicious stares burning holes in her back.

She felt decidedly uncomfortable. Before Sakura had reached the first row of houses she was stopped by a man. He wore a simple tunic, his skin was tanned and he looked very serious.

"What brings you here, stranger?" he asked a young boy hiding behind his leg "Shinobi hardly ever come here, unless it's for stealing."

"I'm sorry if my presence worried you," she said quickly, completely caught off guard, she had no idea shinobi had such a bad reputation in these parts. "I'm just looking for Sakana village." the man narrowed his eyes and it remained silent for a while as he thought.

"I know of no Sakana village." he finally said, Sakura couldn't detect a lie in his words and frowned.

"Are you sure?" she asked, stepping forward "I've been told to come here, by my shishou and ask for Sakana village. I'm looking for someone who lives there." Sakura could hardly leave the desperate tone out of her voice, it had been a long and gruelling journey through the desert, after all.

"I know of no such village," he repeated "now please leave." he said rudely and stared her down, obviously willing her to leave.

"I've heard of it," a soft voice suddenly spoke up from Sakura's left side. The young kunoichi turned to it and looked at a young woman who had a baby cradled in her arms. "There's a trader, he visits the market in Koto often. He has the best equipment in this area. He's called Sakana and his village is Sakana's town."

Sakura blinked, confused. "So," she frowned "I'm not looking for a village but a person?"

"He lives with a very small community in the forest," she shrugged "they change their location often. If you are looking for a Sakana village then that would be your best bet." she smiled "It's a very uncommon name here, you know."

Sakura smiled gratefully "I didn't," she admitted "thank you for your help, miss," she said politely and bowed "do you know where I can find Sakana-san?"

"There's a big market up North in three days, you should find him there." she said "the city is located on a hill and it's a four day walk for us. Called Kyokan city." she smiled.

Sakura straightened up and smiled gratefully. "Thank you very much, miss." she turned around and bowed to the man as well. She chose to ignore his sulky and disapproving expression. The kind woman threw him a challenging glare. "I'll be on my way then, thank you again."

And Sakura turned and slowly headed back to the forest. Before she got to the first tree she could still hear:

"If a whole bunch of them come back tonight and kill everyone, I'll blame you." the man said, disgruntled.

"Oh don't be so sour and hold your son for a moment."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note:**

Until now I've kept "inner Sakura" quiet. I didn't really know how I was going to present her but I think I've figured it out now.

* * *

Kyokan city was appropriately called a city. It wasn't as big as Konoha but it is was as busy as Sakura's hometown. Situated on top of a big hill Sakura had noticed it's lights long before she had been able to recognise the first houses in the distance.

When the friendly woman in the small town had said it took them a four days walk to Kyokan Sakura had assumed it would take her a day and a half, running. Two days, perhaps. However, unused to the dense forest, the unfamiliar surroundings, the heat and all the other factors had slowed her down immensely.

It was late noon on the third day that Sakura arrived at the city and she truly hoped she hadn't missed the market. In a big city like Kyokan they saw strangers every hour of every day but even here her much paler skin drew allot of attention. The natives had a much darker tone, after all.

The city was filled with all sorts of delicious smells which made Sakura's stomach rumble uncomfortably reminding the pink head of the disastrous diet of the past few days. Sakura sighed heavily but ignored it, quickly searching for the market.

It was hard to miss the huge square filled with vendors and shops although there was none of the expected bustle. Sakura had arrived just in time to see all the vendors packaging their goods. She looked around worriedly, hoping she could still find Sakana.

Sakura quickly walked to the middle of the square and got hold of a random person, someone who sold fish, from the smell of him. "Excuse me," she said and the merchant looked up at her, frowning "I'm looking for a person called Sakana, do you know where he-"

"I don't know. Now bug off, I have packing to do." the man bit and bowed down to continue shoving boxes on a wagon. Shocked Sakura could only gape at him and move away.

_How rude!_ Inner Sakura suddenly spoke up _We should beat him up! _Sakura shook her head and quickened her step, hiding an amused smile behind her hand as her alter ego came up with increasingly violent scenarios.

_And then we should poke out his eye-_ "Hey miss!" unaware someone was shouting at her Sakura continued on "Miss!" the voice called again. "Miss with the pink hair!" this, Sakura realised, could only be her. She turned and looked at a little boy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she smiled as the boy reached her "I didn't realise you were shouting for me." They boy blushed and shook his head shyly.

"It's okay," he said, the epitome of cuteness "my momma heard you talking to the rude fisher, she knows Sakana." he grinned, happy that the message was delivered. Sakura's smile brightened.

"Really? Where is your momma then?"

The cute boy's mother turned out to be a plump woman who sold bread and other deliciously smelling goods on the market. She apologised for the other man's rudeness and even gave Sakura a small bread to eat.

"You can find Sakana on the outer edge of the market." she pointed to the left "Right next to the church, usually. If he's still here at all. Won't be too hard to miss; he's rather tall and a young girl and boy are always here with him."

"He may have left already?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Sakana is usually one of the first to arrive and the first to leave," the woman said, petting her son on the head "he lives farther into the forest and he likes being back by nightfall so he leaves as soon as the market ends."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you for the information, madam." she said politely "and thank you for the bread. I'll hurry and search for him then." she ruffled the little boy's black hair "bye Daisuke-kun." she grinned at him and quickly took off.

The church was as easy to miss as the market was, tall, stone, with large glass windows it stood out like a giant among the midget houses. Unfortunately for Sakura there were hardly any merchants left there and she could spot no tall man with a young girl and boy. She sighed and sat down on one of the stone steps.

She wondered if she had truly missed the Sakana person and if she had then where would he be next? Searching the forest for his little community would be searching for a needle in a haystack.

A very big haystack. Fire country sized.

She sighed very deeply again and closed her eyes. She groaned and cursed "Damn Sakana."

"Did Sakana-ojii swindle you?" Sakura's eyes snapped open and suddenly thought the haystack just got smaller. She looked over her shoulder into a young girls face. Her red hair and much paler skin marking her as much a stranger as Sakura. The kunoichi couldn't keep the smile from her face.

"No, no. Not at all! But I've been looking for him do you know where he is?" she asked, hopefully.

"Of course," the other girl said "he's my uncle. Sort of. Anyway, my brother and I help him out allot. Why d'you need him?" she asked, she was chewing on a green flat plant Sakura didn't recognise.

"I'm looking for someone," Sakura said "and I've been told he knows where she is."

The girl shrugged "Uncle knows everyone and their mother, seems like. Come on, he's probably half way to the forest already." she pointed at the main road which led to a low stone wall which was the border between city and forest.

"Oi, Sakana," the girl said, rudely when they had finally caught up to a tall man and boy who each held a big travel sack. Straps appropriately fastened on their hips to keep the weight off their backs. "This one was looking for you." she pointed at Sakura before picking up a third sack and swinging it on.

Sakana turned, surprised to have been called out. He really was tall and tan. _Definitely a native_, Sakura thought. He had dark brown eyes and crow's feet at the edges. His face spoke of a happy but hard life.

"Sakana-san," Sakura spoke up and bowed respectfully. It made the rude girl exchange an amused glance with her brother who had raised his eyebrows. Sakana flushed and immediately helped Sakura up.

"No need for bowing or -san, dear." he smiled "I'm not at all used to something like that. What can I do for you?"

Sakura's polite smile brightened at his obvious friendliness. "I'm looking for a person called, Kin," she said "I've been told you know where she is."

Before Sakura realised it her stance tensed and she moved into a more defensive stance when the girl and boy suddenly stopped smiling and she could feel them. _Chakra, they have chakra!_ Sakura realised. The friendly older man's expression had become guarded as well.

"We know, Kin-sama." he spoke slowly, the honorific wasn't lost on Sakura "what is your business with her?" he asked.

"I- I-" Sakura glanced at the siblings who were obviously ready to pounce her if she said something wrong. This was totally unexpected... Although Sakura could feel they only knew the basics of chakra control and she outmatched them by far she also knew that it wouldn't make the best impression.

_Ah, just kick 'm good,_ Inner Sakura supplied gleefully.

"I'm looking for someone to train me," she said "and my shishou told me to come here and look for Kin." The earlier rude girl burst out laughing and Sakura turned to her, offended.

"A skinny wimp like you?" she grinned "Become Kin-sama's apprentice? How stupid." she dismissed Sakura and looked at Sakana "Let's go old man, we want to be back by nightfall, remember?" and she marched off without looking back.

"I apologise," Sakana said "But I can't take a random stranger with me. You look like a nice girl but you'll have to look somewhere else." he also turned and followed the other.

Sakura could only gape after them but the boy had stayed. He looked at her.

"They can't sense it," he spoke softly "but I can. You're stronger than us. Much stronger." he said, not a question but a fact "We will never be able to reach our village by nightfall." he gave her a meaningful glance "That means we'll have to camp outside and there are allot of bandits around in these parts right after the big market." with one more glance at her he hurried after his sister and uncle.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:**

I want to clear something up for a minute. The summary says "future ItaSaku" because it will take a while before we get to that part.

This is the first time ever for me to just... Write. I have absolutely nothing planned for this story except a basic plot line and some scenes I wanna put in it. Usually I have an entire story planned out and written in detail before I actually write it. So, I have absolutely no idea how much chapter/words/time I'll be spending on her training before she meets Itachi.

... Almost wrote a spoiler there. Anyhow, I hadn't even thought about the climate and the environment until I wrote it as a rain forest and I don't know shit about those.

* * *

"What do you think that girl really wanted with Kin?" it was the girl spoke quietly, they were keeping their voices down while they sat around the campfire.

As the boy had said earlier, the group hadn't reached their home before nightfall and so where now gathered around a warm fire. Sakura felt a twinge of envy when she compared their comfy spots on the ground with her hiding spot in a tree.

Temperatures in rain forests never dropped much but Sakura would have liked the soft forest ground covered with leaves to cushion the hard ground. And the relaxing crackle of the fire. And perhaps a warm meal. And maybe some conversation. And then there was always the up side of not having branches sticking in all sorts of uncomfortable places.

She sighed softly and looked at the bits and pieces of the open sky she could see. The dense forest hid most of it from sight. Not for the first time Sakura wondered what the hell she was doing in the middle of nowhere searching for a woman where she obviously wasn't really welcome. Not to mention the whole stupid journey might be in vain if the woman said no. Let's not forget that there was the whole possibility of the genius woman being crazy.

_Batty. Nutters. Off the handle. Cuckoo. Cracked. Wacky. Dingy. _Inner Sakura offered.

_Okay. Let's stop that tirade before I loose my own screws. _Sakura shook her head, trying to clear it of the possible bizarre conversation with someone who was essentially herself.

"She said it was for training, right?" Sakura's ears perked as the conversation continued. It was the brother who was obviously leaning in her favor although Sakura didn't have the slightest clue why.

_Our incredible charm and amazing wit?_ Inner Sakura supplied, pretending to yawn. The real Sakura had a hard time suppressing a groan at her inner mind's antics.

"Even if that is her real reason Kin wou-"

"Kin-sama won't have such a scrawny overly polite floozy as an apprentice." the girl again, rudely interrupting the older man. Sakura's fists clenched in irritation. Sakana audibly sighed but didn't react. Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the small group and she saw the girl smirking at the man.

"She was strong, Kumiko," her brother said "that you couldn't feel it at all is proof enough." he put some more wood on the fire. Kumiko scoffed.

"Yeah right," she smirked again "you just wanted her to come with us because she was pretty."

_Huh? _Every once in a while it happens, Sakura and her alter ego having the exact same thoughts at the exact same moment. While both were curious about the brother's reaction Sakura eyes suddenly shot to the dark forest ahead.

_There's something there,_ she realised and quickly got up from her sitting position. Very quietly she started making her way to the disturbance. She stopped when she could only see the soft glow of the campfire behind her. Crouching, she concentrated on her surroundings.

Her eyes snapped open and narrowed. They were surrounded. She quickly leaped up to the next tree and searched for the attacker who was closest to her position. Treading very softly through the trees and thick foliage she found him.

One man. Armed with a rusty sword and two daggers, as far as she could see. His friends were spread out in a circle, closing in on the three travellers. A total of 7 bandits.

Knowing there was no time to lose, Sakura let herself fall right on top her victim. Her hand shot to his mouth, muffling his sudden "Oomph" and a quick hit to the neck had him unconscious on the ground. Sakura crouched over him, spying her direct surroundings. None of his comrades had noticed.

Sakura stood and headed to the next one. She approached him from the left trying very hard no to make a sound. Unfortunately for her she was hardly used to rain forest surroundings and she accidently cracked a plant. The sound stood out from the rusting leaves and the chirping of insects as it alerted everyone in the vicinity.

The soft chattering of the three travellers stopped and Sakura's next victim had also halted. Very quietly he first looked to his right and then to his left, straight at Sakura. She gulped and then ran forward, vaguely aware that the others had stopped being sneaky and were now charging at Sakana, Kumiko and her brother.

Sakura cussed as she took out the man with a single blow before he had the chance to yell something. She jumped to one of the trees again, setting of for the next one.

_They still don't know we're here, we haven't lost the element of surprise._ Sakura nodded at her alter ego encouragement. Hoping that Kumiko and her brother could handle some of the attacks while she took out the rest Sakura took out a third one from above.

She headed straight for the campfire then, assuming the rest of the bandits would be there. With one glance Sakura assessed the situation: Sakana was hiding behind Kumiko and her brother while they held off the attackers successfully but they were hardly able to take out four at once.

Leaving all sneakiness in the dark forest behind her, Sakura ran to them with a yell, drawing all the attention to her. The bandits laughed at the little girl who was running their way and Kumiko stared at her as if she was mad. Her brother didn't waste time, however, he smiled and hit one of the attackers on the head with a long wooden stick while his back was turned.

"Hey little girl who do you thi-" the largest bandit, obviously the leader was cut off when Sakura's fist send him flying into the forest. Without stopping she kicked the one next to him and finally grabbed the sixth one's wrist and easily threw him away.

The seventh attacked backed away and a crude "Hmn?" combined with a death glare made him run off, forgetting about his comrades.

After the last hasty footsteps had moved out of hearing range it stayed quiet around the campfire. The group stared at Sakura in amazement, Kumiko with a grudging respect.

Sakura stared at them, at a loss for what to do with herself. After the quiet had reached the limit of embarrassing and awkwardness it reached new a height of uncomfortable silence.

"Well!" Sakura suddenly clapped her hands and gave them her best disarming smile "good thing I was here, huh?" she could see the brother hiding a grin behind his hand as he scratched his cheek.

"We could've taken out four of these idiots by ourselves," Kumiko snapped, and glared at the pink head "and have you been stalking us?"

Sakura bristled "Seven of them, thank you." she growled "and of course I've been following you guys, how else would I find this Kin person, huh?" she planted her hands in her sides, her eyes narrowed. Kumiko opened her mouth to start retorting but Sakana cut her off this time.

"Seven?" he asked, Sakura nodded and pointed at the forest.

"I'd already taken down three before I rushed in here." she threw Kumiko a superior glance.

"You owe our thanks then, miss." Sakana said and nodded politely "but this still doesn't mean we can just take you to see Kin-sama."

"What?" she exclaimed, losing the attitude "Why not?"

The old man scratched the back of his head and smiled "Plenty of reasons, I'm sorry to say."

"Come on now, Sakana-san." the brother finally spoke up, smiling at Sakura who gave him an uncertain, half hearted grin back. "We can take her to see Kin, can't we?" he asked "We'll be moving again in a few days so we won't have to worry about her knowing where we are if Kin-sama refuses to-"

"When." Kumiko snapped, her arms crossed and glaring at Sakura "When Kin doesn't take her on."

_Confidence confidence. We should give her a good kick._ Sakura squashed the tempting thought without remorse.

"You agree then, Imoto?" the brother asked, smiling happily his eyes sparkling.

"I- what?" her eyes snapped to her brother's, confused.

"Well, you didn't say we shouldn't take her, did you?" he didn't give her a chance to reply "So it's decided then. Let's move out at first light!" his grin widened and he sat down next to the fire. "Want some soup, miss?"

Sakura blinked, surprised by the brother's unexpected initiative. "Yes, thank you," she mumbled and sat down "I'm Sakura, by the way. Haruno Sakura."

"Kira," he introduced himself.

* * *

Imoto = younger sister. I wanted to put an emphasis that Kira is really the older brother. In Japan, this really matters allot.

I suck at battle scenes. And... I just realised this fic is going to have a few. Guess I should practice.

Anyone have any tips for battle scenes? Tell me what I did wrong on this one. I know it's not exciting at all or anything even remotely like it. .


	5. Chapter 5

"Exactly how much further is it?" Sakura groaned as they climbed yet another hill. Not one but two heavy travel bags piled on her back. A very unladylike grunt escaped her as her feet got stuck in the long grass and plants that seemed to grow everywhere.

Kumiko threw her a superior glance from up ahead not burdened by a heavy bag and was about to throw in a sarcastic comment for good measure but a deep sigh from Sakana stopped her. Sakura was grateful.

When they had cleaned up the camp at an indecent early hour Sakura, hoping to make a good impression had offered to carry the older Sakana's bag. Kumiko who seemed to try and make everything as difficult as possible for Sakura had given her bag over as well.

Sakura remembered her saying "Like a test, Sakura-chan, for your worthiness." very clearly and she gritted her teeth in annoyance. Aside from super human strength and some more basic lessons Tsunade's teachings had left much to be desired when it came to the practical side. Sure, she was a great medic nin but stamina? Or strength and agility without the aide of chakra? That was something else entirely.

"We should be there soon, Sakura-san," Kira said from behind her and Sakura swivelled around to look at him. The sun had almost risen to its highest point by then. "the forest will start thinning out soon and that's when it's a little further."

Sakura nodded her thanks and shifted the bags on her back. "I didn't realise these were so heavy." she said, grumbling.

"Sakana's is the heaviest," Kira said, speeding up to walk beside her "it has most of the tools we sell in it."

"What kind of tools do you guys sell?" Sakura asked, curiosity piqued.

"Mostly things to work the land and stuff like hammers and such." he swatted a plant aside so he could pass without hinder "Kin-sama has taught some of us how to use our chakra and we use it to make tools like that. They're much sturdier than what the others are selling."

Sakura nodded, her eyes on the ground to avoid more irritating tentacles.

"We also sell seeds and herbs we grow out. Those are in Kumiko's bag." he smiled at the kunoichi and not for the first time she wondered if he actually had a crush on her. She dismissed the thought after a second.

"How many people live in the village?" Sakura wondered aloud, glancing at Kira and nearly tripping over another root.

"Not so many," he said, quickly steadying her with one hand. They smiled at each other awkwardly. "There's us, Sakana and Kin of course," Sakura nodded "then there are about 10 farmers with wives and some have children. About 15 others who make the tools and fish and help the others out." Sakura frowned, a little bit confused.

"I don't understand how this all could work out." she said but before she could clarify Kira went on.

"I suppose you could compare it with a big camping trip," he said "we don't pay each other but rather the money we make by selling things on the markets we use for the whole community." he paused "I suppose it's a little odd." he shrugged

"Since you'll be joining us soon I might as well explain," he grinned and it lit up his features but Sakura sighed.

"You seem very sure that I will." she said, glancing at Kumiko ahead. "She seems sure I'll be rejected." Kira sighed softly and scratched the back of his head.

"Kin-sama is... Unpredictable at best," he said "She's never trained anyone beyond the basics even though Kumiko has been asking her." he too looked at his sister "That's probably why she's so hostile." he grinned at Sakura "Though she's always hostile."

It was silent for a while and Sakura noticed that the trees were indeed starting to thin, leaving more space to walk comfortably.

"You probably wanna be truthful at all times, Sakura-san," Kira suddenly spoke up "Kin-sama always knows." Sakura nodded "She's also..." he avoided her eyes that time "she's a little odd."

Before Sakura could respond and finally demand what the hell was wrong with the woman they had arrived at a sudden clearing. A large, totally unexpected open space. It was hardly a village as far as she could see. There were rough rudimentary houses made out of wood. Each had a long roof that reached well over the house to keep the rain out. There was room for a fire pit under each roof.

There was a large roof standing in the middle of the town the houses build around it, under it was a wood floor to keep the dust away from the long table. The middle of the roof extended to cover a large fire pit. Right now there was a huge iron cauldron simmering.

Some of the fires in front of the houses were occupied, mostly by women with small children. There was one house were Sakura saw a group of men and woman work on something too small she couldn't see.

The arrival of Sakana and his group was met with happy smiles and warm welcome backs. Two children ran up to them excitedly tugging on Sakana's shirt giggling and asking about the trip. Kira put down his bag when more children ran up to them, laughing.

"Kira! Kira!" they shouted and hugged his legs "Welcome back!" Sakura garnered quite a few curious looks as well. One boy tugged at Kira's hand looking at her and whispering "Pretty lady?" he asked softly, pointing at Sakura shyly.

"Yes," a voice suddenly sounded from behind them "who's the pretty lady?" Sakura's eyes widened visibly as she quickly turned around. The sudden presence had arrived completely undetected and Sakura knew she had not been there when they had come out of the forest.

Taking in the figure her gut told her must be the applauded Kin. This time Sakura could not help her mouth hanging a little bit open. _'Who- What? A kimono, in this heat?'_ once again Inner Sakura and herself were completely on the same level. Aside from the strange attire Sakura took in the person. She was tall, very tall even. High cheekbones and a straight nose complimented her grey eyes.

She had dull red hair. Like a red shirt that had lost much of it's former vibrant color. It hung down to her mid back. Sakura saw she had quite a few ornaments in it. Pearls, ribbons and small braids. She was very beautiful. The sole thing that seemed to ruin the vibrant picture of color, her pale red hair contrasting nicely with a royal blue kimono, was her expression. Her eyes were drooping slightly and the corners of her mouth turned down.

Detached. Bored. And it looked as if she had that expression permanently burned onto her face.

"Well?" Kin moving her gaze away from Sakura to Kira. "Kira?" Apparently she had caught Kira and the other two as off guard as she had Sakura because all three of them took a while to form a response. Sakura stepped forward and bowed politely.

"I am Haruno Sakura," she said "kunoichi of Konoha and I've come-"

"Konoha?" Kin interrupted her "I had hoped someone would have blasted that village off the face of the earth by now." she eyed Sakura critically who could only blink in surprise "... I guess not. What does Konoha want this time?" she asked. Kin suddenly raised her hand and Sakura flinched when she thought the woman might bring out a weapon.

Kin's head slanted to the side as she looked at Sakura oddly. She had raised a thin, long pipe not a weapon. A kiseru it was called, the kunoichi remembered. She relaxed her stance as Kin put tobacco in the tiny head.

"Well, ehm-" she started, completely distracted "Konoha doesn't- I mean I- eh." she saw how Kin lighted the fine tobacco with a single hand sign. Breathing out a long smoke cloud Kin raised her eyebrows at Sakura, definitely looking more than a little amused. Unconsciously Sakura straightened, squaring her shoulders.

"My shishou has send me here," she said "I would like you to train me." Suddenly Kin chocked and coughed, spewing out small puffs of smoke. The soft coughs turned into an amused chuckle.

"Really now?" she asked, once again looking Sakura over. The pink head had a hard time suppressing the urge to fidget under the grey gaze. "You want me to train you." she chuckled again before pulling on the metal mouthpiece of the kiseru. Sakura could hear Kumiko giggling behind her.

"Yes." she simply said, gritting her teeth in annoyance. To her surprise however Kin barely glanced at Kumiko, narrowing her eyes slightly and the hot headed girl immediately shut up. Sakura felt a little grateful. Kin blew out more smoke.

"Who is this shishou of yours?" Kin swirled the long pipe around her fingers. The grey eyes following the motion. To Sakura it looked like a habit like Asuma's smoking and Kakashi's reading but unlike the former two this habit was extremely distracting. The pipe went round and round spinning between the nimble fingers until it stopped. "Well?" Kin asked once again her head slanted a little bit to the side and she stared at Sakura, her eyebrows raised.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the kiseru and as soon as she looked up the pipe was again twirling around only this time Kin's eyes were on Sakura. "Genju Tsunade," Sakura finally said "Konoha's godaime Hokage." The pipe slowed down and eventually stopped. Kin whistled slowly as if she was impressed.

"They made that old hag Hokage?" before Sakura could defend her shishou Kin went on "I suppose it's no surprise." her eyes finally connected with Sakura's own and she went completely still. "She told you where to find me?"

Sakura nodded, a little unsure "She told me to come here and ask for a person named Sakana," she didn't look away from the surprisingly steely grey eyes. Kin frowned and took another long drag from her pipe. She exhaled slowly, her eyes closing.

"Ah well," she shrugged "I hold little interest for an apprentice. You can go tell her that."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi!

Yeah. I haven't looked at this story in three years. But I've recently started to rewrite it since it's pretty horrifying and I've much improved. I've even learnt how to properly spell stuff now.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone here would be interested in being my beta? Not spelling/grammar wise but more like story line/progression/characterization wise.

If you're interested PM me or something. I understand if you wanna take a look at the first chapter to see what you'll be working with before we agree on a beta-thing on a more permanent basis.


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